The Jenny Report
by ApollaCammi
Summary: Chapter Six: It's a little bit of normal after a whole lot of crazy. Jenny and Kevin, through the third season. Ryan/Jenny.
1. Scholastic

A/N: Until I manage to find a list of Castle's bestsellers somewhere, I'm just going to wing it in terms of where they fall in the Derrick Storm series.

**Scholastic**

Ryan/Jenny, post-A Deadly Affair.

* * *

_I'm in the laundry room. Back in a minute. K._

Jenny smiled at the note and the half finished dinner it was keeping company. The meetings with her principal and department head had run late, and all Jenny wanted to do now was change into something comfortable. Jenny hadn't been sure what to expect when they'd asked to meet with her, so she had gone digging through her closet and ended up wearing one of her suits to school. Now she was feeling the urge to veg out, so she fished out a pair of yoga pants and then went digging through Kevin's drawers until she found his old academy t-shirt. That was better. Jenny twisted her hair up into a loose bun as she walked back into the living room and made a beeline for the bookcase.

Kevin had, rather unwittingly, created a monster the day he gave her _Heat Wave_. The moment she'd finished it Jenny had gone to Barnes and Noble and bought Castle's other twenty seven books, and she had just finished number twenty-two. Which meant that the next book on her list was… _Gathering Storm_. Jenny plucked it off the bookshelf. Jenny was curled up on the red couch and halfway through the second chapter when Kevin came back, laundry basket in hand.

"Hey, you're back. I was starting to think they were holding you hostage at the school."

"I was just thinking the same thing about you. Get lost in the laundry room?"

"One of the dryers is busted. Again." Kevin dropped the laundry basket on the armchair.

"So you didn't meet an attractive girl down there and get distracted?" Jenny teased.

"Well…" Kevin drew the word out slowly as he pulled her up off the couch. "There is this blonde who likes to steal my clothes."

"Really? Do I know her?" Jenny arched an eyebrow at him.

"Isn't that my academy t-shirt?" Kevin asked, leaning down to kiss her.

"Considering it shrunk in the wash I think that means it's mine now," Jenny grinned, interlacing her fingers behind his neck and stepping closer.

"I still think you did that on purpose."

"Without proof you'll never know."

"I could always get a confession out of you," Kevin mused, his thumb rubbing circles on her right hipbone.

"You could try," Jenny agreed.

"Derrick Storm again?" Kevin asked, catching sight of her book. "You know that's just Castle's alter ego, right?"

"Go ahead and ruin it for me, why don't you?" Jenny pouted. "I'm always going to think of Rick now."

"Who were you thinking about before?" Kevin wondered.

"Just this brown haired, blue eyed Irish detective I know." Jenny winked at him.

"Oh. Well then," Kevin grinned. "Hey, in this one-"

"No spoilers!" Jenny warned.

"Hmm. Come keep me company while I finish making the spaghetti. You can tell me about your day."

"So what were those meetings about?" Kevin asked, turning the burners on.

Jenny grabbed a bottle of white wine out of the fridge and poured herself a glass. "I told you Bianca's pregnant, right? Her doctor wants to put her on bed rest at the start of her sixth month. The school has a student teacher coming in a few weeks who's majoring in art, so they were wondering if I would be okay with teaching three arts and two English when Bianca put on bed rest next month instead of five arts."

"What did you say?"

"I have two weeks to decide, so I said I'd think about it."

"And? What do you think about it?" Kevin put the lid over the saucepan and turned to look at her.

"Well, I'll finally be able to put that English minor to good use." Jenny worried at her lip. It could be fun. It would be a good experience. She just didn't want to get pushed out of teaching art.

"Do you get to pick your own books?"

"Yeah, next semester. One twentieth century novel and one Shakespeare. Bianca's already chosen the ones for this semester."

"See? That could be fun. And if you need any help with the second, I'm your guy."

"Thanks, Kevin," Jenny grinned.

"So does that mean you're going to take it?"

Jenny shrugged. "I probably won't decide for sure until they ask me again. How was your day?"

"Castle came back."

"It's about time. He's late. Did he just drop by the precinct? How did Kate take it?" Jenny leaned over and balanced her elbows on the counter.

"No, we found him standing over a dead body."

"You what?"

"He was friends with our victim and got worried when she didn't answer his calls. We found him standing over her with a gun."

"What did you do?"

Kevin went pink and busied himself with chopping a tomato for the salad. "Well, _afterIalmostshothim_, Beckett arrested him."

"You shot Richard Castle!" Jenny exclaimed. "And Kate arrested him?"

"No …just near him. To the left of him, actually. He had a gun, it's a reflex." Kevin rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "And Beckett had to do it; he was a suspect in a murder."

"Well, I guess that answers the question of how Kate took it. But Rick didn't kill her, right? What happened after that?"

"No, Ballistics cleared him almost immediately." Kevin nodded. "He and Beckett made an asinine bet about the case – if Castle won, he got to stay, and if Beckett won he had to go for good." Kevin sighed and drained the noodles. Jenny raised an eyebrow. That was a little more juvenile than she was used to, even dealing with high school students every day.

"Rick won, didn't he?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, because Beckett _let_ him," Kevin groused, frowning.

"Maybe she didn't know?" Jenny offered helpfully.

"That they were making fake bills? Oh, she knew. Esposito and I figured it out when we were going through her personal effects."

"So he's back?" Jenny finished off the last of her wine.

"Looks like."

"You don't sound all that thrilled about it." Jenny reached up and grabbed two plates out of the cupboard, handing them to Kevin.

"Look, I get him leaving so he can finish his book without seeing Beckett and Demming together all the time. Whatever. But he didn't even call me or Espo. Three months, Jenny, and not a thing. We're partners, and he doesn't even call to say 'hey, how's it going?' Bullshit." Kevin took the plates and ladled out spaghetti onto both of them.

Jenny laughed. "Kevin. I love you, but sometimes I just don't get you."

"Huh?" Kevin frowned at her.

"You're mad because he _didn't call!_" Jenny giggled.

"Yeah, so…?"

"You do realize you sound like a sixteen year old girl," Jenny pointed out, grabbing the salad bowl.

"Just for that, no sauce for you." Kevin passed Jenny one of the plates and she took it with her other hand.

"I think it's adorable," Jenny said, watching Kevin sulk. "And on the plus side, in a few days it'll be like he never left."


	2. Luck of the Draw

**Luck of the Draw**

Okay, so she's a little superstitious. But just a little. Ryan/Jenny, post-He's Dead, She's Dead.

* * *

"Hey."

"Hey," Jenny pulled the iPod headphones out of her ears and grinned up at Kevin.

"Now this is a switch from last week. What are you doing hanging out down here?" Kevin asked, waving his arm around the laundry room.

"Thinking. Actually, pondering might be a little more accurate."

"And thinking on _top_ of the dryer is better than thinking on the couch?" Kevin asked sceptically, arching an eyebrow.

"It helps me think," Jenny defended herself. "And I knew you would be on the couch and you are not conducive to me thinking clearly. Or at all."

Kevin grinned. "An excellent reason, but I think you're leaving something out."

Jenny caved. "…And when I came down here last time someone had stolen my dryer. The one is still broken, you know."

"So what are you pondering on, Jen?" Kevin hopped up on the broken dryer next to hers.

"My job," Jenny sighed.

"The English thing," Kevin clarified.

"Yeah," Jenny sighed again. She was conflicted. It was a great opportunity, but… There was always a but.

"I thought you had another week on that."

"I do, but I still don't know what I'm going to say. Maybe I should just flip a coin." Jenny nibbled on her bottom lip. It couldn't hurt, and none of her other decision-making methods were helping.

"Oh Jenny, you don't want to do that."

"Why not?" Jenny raised her eyebrow and stared challengingly at Kevin.

"Well, do you really want to leave something like this to chance?" Kevin shrugged.

"It worked out pretty well last time."

"I've never seen you flip a coin." Kevin gave Jenny an incredulous look.

"I flipped a quarter a year and a half ago. My friends and I couldn't decide where we wanted to go out. We ended up at Cagey McDougall's, and I met you. Pretty lucky, huh?" Jenny threaded her fingers through Kevin's and beamed.

"Extremely lucky," Kevin agreed, squeezing her hand. "Remind me to thank that quarter."

Jenny gave a quiet laugh and smirked at Kevin. "It seems kind of silly, now that I've said it out loud."

"I've heard sillier, trust me," Kevin nudged Jenny's shoulder, urging her to continue. "What are you worried about?"

"On the one hand, teaching English would be an adventure, and it could be a lot of fun. But I don't want to stop teaching Art," Jenny admitted. "I love it, and I'm afraid that if I do say yes, I'm going to be given more and more English classes until I never have any Arts."

"Jen, I'm pretty sure you told me that this was just while your friend was on bed rest-slash-maternity leave." Kevin grinned at Jenny.

"It is. She'll be back in September."

"Then why are you worrying so much?" Kevin squeezed her hand again before standing up. "She won't be pregnant forever."

Jenny giggled. "Funny, that's just what Bianca said to me today. _Jenny, I'm only five months in and I feel like I've been pregnant forever!_ And then she burst into tears."

Kevin winced.

"I keep forgetting you've been through the whole hormonal thing with your sister before." Jenny's dryer beeped to signal the end of the cycle, and she hopped down to open the door.

"Twice, and let me tell you it was no pic – Hey! That's my academy shirt!" Kevin exclaimed, watching Jenny haphazardly dump the clothes into her basket.

"Posession is nine-tenths, Kevin," Jenny smirked.

"Say the thief," Kevin backed Jenny up against the dryer. "You steal a lot of things, you know. Hearts, clothes, covers…"

"And you steal cheesy lines," Jenny joked. Still, her fingers clutched Kevin's shirt and she sighed into him as he kissed her. Her toes were curling when they were interrupted.

"Oh my _god,_ you two, get a room!"

"Hi Jane," they chorused. Jenny dropped her head against Kevin's chest to hide the blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Busted," Kevin whispered in her ear, and Jenny felt the curve of his smile against her cheek.

"This is the third time this month! I get that you two are totally attractive and deeply in love and all that wonderful stuff, but if I walk in on you two making out _one more time_ I'm going to yak all over my psychology paper, and I don't think my prof will accept that as a reason for not handing it in." Jane rolled her eyes, ponytail swinging, and sighed. "Do you two mind moving? You're blocking my machine. Jesus, another minute and I would have had to drink an entire bottle of tequila to get rid of _that_ image."

Jenny was pretty sure that her face was scarlet as she bent down to grab her laundry basket.

"Thought you were underage, Jane," Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, twenty-first was a week ago. You can put the card in the mail. Hey, my dad was wondering how much it would cost him to get you to pretend to be my gun-toting older brother in the unlikely scenario that I ever have a boy over." Jane rolled her eyes at Jenny.

"I would be happy to be your gun-toting older brother whenever you want. For free." Kevin's voice contained just a little too much unholy glee, and Jenny smacked Kevin's arm without looking at him.

"But he _won't_," Jenny corrected. She shared a sympathetic glance with Jane. Jenny remembered what her dad had been like when she went off to school.

"I won't?" Kevin repeated.

"You won't," Jenny and Jane chorused.

"We'll leave you to it, Jane," Kevin laughed and draped an arm over Jenny's shoulders and steered them out of the laundry room. "I'll put that card in the mail for you!"

"Seriously? The _laundry room?"_ Jane called after them.

"Good_bye,_ Jane!" Kevin called back.

Jenny groaned and dropped her head against Kevin's chest as soon as the elevator doors closed. "Oh my God, that was so embarrassing."

"Hey, she's a big girl. I'm sure she's seen worse."

"Not helpful, Kev," Jenny swatted his arm. "Jane's right, this is the third time. No more kissing in the laundry room."

"Can't we flip a coin to decide?" Kevin teased.


	3. The Half of Us

**The Half Of Us**

Distraction is the name of the game. Ryan/Jenny, post-Under the Gun.

* * *

"I'm home!" Jenny hip-checked the door closed behind her. "And you're looking at Marlowe Academy's newest English teacher!" She paused. The TV was humming quietly in the living room, but the apartment was dark and quiet. "Kevin?" Jenny called, frowning. There was no sign of her boyfriend. Jenny stuck her head into the living room and saw Kevin sprawled out on the couch, a half empty beer on the table and his arm draped over his eyes.

"Oh, Kevin," Jenny's heart broke as she watched Kevin doze on the couch. Something had happened at work. Jenny dropped her purse on the armchair and crouched down beside Kevin, laying her hand against his cheek. "Kevin, wake up."

Kevin's eyes were dark and tired as they focused on her. "When did you get home?"

"Just now."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."

"It's fine, Kevin, don't worry-" Jenny caught Kevin's arm as he pushed himself up to make room for her. "Just scoot a little."

Kevin moved so he was on his side and Jenny lay down beside him, looping her arm behind his back. "There. Lots of room," she grinned.

"And what if you fall, huh?" Kevin raised his eyebrow.

Jenny grinned up at Kevin and draped his free arm around her waist. "Don't let go."

"I won't."

"Neither will I," Jenny promised, her heart fluttering at the seriousness of his tone. "Rough day?"

"Not one of the better ones," Kevin admitted. "How was your movie?"

"Well, I was right, you would have hated it, but I quite enjoyed it," Jenny grinned. "Bianca burst into tears about eight times – second trimester hormones are no fun, apparently. She was telling me that her fourth period class is probably traumatized by now." Jenny laid her head down on Kevin's shoulder. "So what ruined your day?"

"Well, it turns out that the doodle in Carver's sock _was_ a treasure map, like Castle thought, and he got killed over it. One of the people going after the map was Beckett's training officer, the one who turned bounty hunter. Beckett had to arrest him tonight." Kevin sighed. "Last year it was Esposito and Ike, this year it's Beckett and Royce – it makes me wonder what my old partners are hiding."

"Kev, I thought you said Ike was cleared."

"He was," Kevin frowned. "I just realized I really don't like secrets."

"I'm sure that none of your old partners are hiding anything from you, Kevin. And in the interest of being truthful, I'm not really from Minneapolis. I'm from a little town-slash-suburb about twenty minutes outside it. Whenever I tried to explain that to people after we moved here I just got a blank stare so I rounded up," Jenny smiled.

"Fair enough," Kevin laughed.

"You know that watching the news is only going to make you feel worse than you already do. It's just past eleven on Thursday – there has to be a comedy on somewhere. I'll even take one of the crime shows, because even when they're depressing they always get their guy." Jenny reached behind her for the remote and found a Big Bang rerun.

"We always get our guy too, Jen," Kevin managed to look offended, though Jenny detected a sparkle of amusement in his eyes.

"Yes, but that's because they have you. And you're their lucky charm," Jenny shrugged it off.

"Jenny, we talked about this," Kevin warned.

"Talked about what?" Jenny asked, blinking innocently as she bit her lip.

"Leprechaun jokes, Jenny," Kevin tried to glare at her.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm a proud leprechaun." Jenny grinned.

"Sassy."

Jenny snapped her fingers. "Shoot, I was aiming for smartass."

"Okay, _smartass_, what's your next idea to distract me?" Kevin challenged playfully.

"That depends," Jenny paused thoughtfully. "Are they working?"

"Yeah. A little."

"What do you think about a dog?" Jenny asked, laughing.

"They're pretty hairy," Kevin said, deliberately misinterpreting her.

Jenny rolled her eyes and leaned in, adopting a stage whisper. "Would you believe that I've been home for almost half an hour and my boyfriend hasn't kissed me yet?"

Kevin shook his head. "He hasn't? You have a terrible boyfriend."

"Well…he has his moments." Jenny winked.

"I bet he hasn't even congratulated you on your English gig yet," Kevin grinned and leaned in, kissing Jenny. Jenny's breath disappeared as Kevin kissed her and she leaned into him. His heart beat strong and reassuring under her hand and Jenny sighed into the kiss.

"Hi. Congratulations on your new title of Art-slash-English teacher."

Jenny blinked, a goofy smile stretching across her lips. Still, she did her best to sound perturbed as she teased Kevin.

"That's it? That was barely a peck. Hardly a kiss at all."

Kevin's grin turned wicked and he leaned in, staring down at Jenny. "Would you believe that my girlfriend's been home for almost half an hour and she hasn't kissed me yet?"

"Now that's a shame," Jenny smirked. She tilted her head up and kissed Kevin, drawing back after a moment. Jenny raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah, too short," Kevin agreed.

* * *

Jenny woke up to Penny laughing at Leonard and Sheldon, and almost rolled off the couch as she stretched.

"Whoa!" Kevin grabbed her and started laughing. "Careful."

"Thanks," Jenny stood up. "I'm exhausted, and I have a feeling I'm not the only one who has to be at work early tomorrow."

"Oh, I can't wait to see how much paperwork Royce landed us with." Kevin's face scrunched up with distaste. "I think I might just stay out here."

"No, you aren't." Jenny shook her head and shimmied out of her dress before setting off down the hallway. "Better hurry before I let the dog have your half of the bed."


	4. Chicken Soup

**Chicken Soup for the Battered Soul**

Jenny elects herself the Espo-sitter for the weekend. Esposito, Ryan/Jenny, post-Punked.

* * *

"What are you doing? Give me those." Ryan grabbed the keys out of Esposito's hand and moved to the other side of the elevator.

"Ryan," Esposito growled.

"Dude," Ryan rolled his eyes in exasperation. "You have been thrown around by Hulk Hogan, mowed down by a shopping cart, and run over by a suspect. You're not driving."

"I can drive," Esposito retorted.

"Yeah, into a _wall_. Captain said to make sure you got back to your apartment, so that's what I'm doing."

Esposito grumbled and leaned back against the elevator wall as Ryan smirked and pocketed the car keys. Esposito smirked a minute later and mimed cracking a whip when Ryan's phone started beeping.

"You're lucky you're injured right now," Ryan muttered, flipping his friend off as he read his text.

_Ice cream choices: Moose Tracks or Double Fudge Brownie Chocolate?_

_Both? We both know you're not going to share the Brownie one._ Ryan texted back, grinning.

_Very funny. :)_

_Going to be late, have to drop Esposito at his place and then go back to the precinct for a few hours._

_

* * *

_Jenny stared down at her phone and shook her head, dialling Kevin.

"Hey, Kev," Jenny said as he picked up. She tucked the phone farther into her shoulder and grabbed a package of egg noodles off the grocery shelf. "What do you _mean_, you're dropping Javier off at his place? I thought he was hurt."

"_He is."_

"Is anyone going to be staying with him?"

"_Don't think so."_

"Well, you can't do that. You said he could barely move," Jenny rolled her eyes. _Boys._ "I'm twenty minutes away from the apartment. Bring Javier over. It's Friday, he can stay with us and I can stay with him while you're at work. That's what the pullout couch is for."

"_Really?"_

"I wouldn't have said anything, otherwise."

"_Okay. I'll see you soon."_

_

* * *

_"What was that about?" Esposito asked suspiciously.

"Jenny was just wondering if you wanted to come over. She knows you don't have anyone who's going to come and stay with you, so Jenny has elected herself the Espo-sitter for the weekend. Or until you feel better, whichever comes first."

Esposito blinked.

"If you're really lucky, she'll make soup," Ryan added.

* * *

Jenny tapped her finger against her lips as she surveyed the living room. The groceries were put away, and her soup was still gently simmering away on the stove, the way it had been when she realised she was out of anything she could put in it. Jenny moved all of the essays she needed to mark onto the red couch, and both the arm chair and the beige pullout were cleared off. There were clean sheets in the closet; the Xbox was tucked neatly under the TV instead of all over the floor… what was she missing?

"Armchair," Jenny decided, dragging it to the right so that it had a better view of the TV. She was stepping back to check the new position when she caught voices outside.

"Ryan, seriously, just drop me at my place. … Ow, what the hell was that for?"

"I warned you I was going to smack you if you said that again."

"I'm wearing a neck brace!"

"And what, your ears are broken too? You're the one who keeps saying you're fine, stop being a baby. Jen, we're home!"

Jenny gave the armchair one last yank and dusted her hands off.

"Kevin," Jenny beamed at the two of them as they walked into the apartment. "Javier, it's good to see you again, though it could be under better circumstances. Come in, have a seat. I hope you don't mind, but I put all my stuff on the red couch."

"That's fine, Jenny," Javier hastily reassured her, taking a seat in the armchair. Kevin snickered.

"I'm making chicken soup, but I had to run out to the store – so just in case it takes longer than expected, how's Chinese, Javier?" Jenny asked.

"Ah… sure, sounds good." Javier replied.

"Excellent. Kev, have you seen the other Xbox controller?" Jenny asked, heading to the kitchen to dig the Chinese takeout menus of the drawer.

"It's under the couch, I think." Kevin called after her.

"Would you mind grabbing that for me?"

"No problem."

Jenny stuck her head back out into the living room. "I'm sorry; I meant to ask earlier – Javier, do you want anything to drink?"

"Water's fine, Jenny, thanks," Javier assured her, grinning.

"Listen, bro, no matter what she says about Call of Duty, Jenny can kick both our asses at it," Kevin warned Javier as Jenny ducked back into the kitchen.

"Right, bro, I believe you." Even from the kitchen Jenny could hear the disbelief in his voice. She grinned.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Kevin grinned and followed Jenny into the kitchen.

"Hey," Kevin smiled at Jenny and wrapped her in a hug.

"Hey," Jenny sank into Kevin's arms and took a deep breath.

"I gotta get back," Kevin said quietly.

Jenny nodded against his chest, running her fingers up and down his tie. So much for a quiet dinner in. Oh well, there was always next weekend.

"Thank you for doing this, Jenny. Are you sure? We might be able to con the Doc into it."

"I'm sure she'd jump at the chance to play sexy nurse, but she has to work too. We will be just fine until Sunday or the end of the case, whichever comes first," Jenny grinned up at Kevin. "Besides, you said they were trying to keep it on the down low."

"You're sure?" Kevin asked again, getting the little wrinkle between his eyes that Jenny secretly thought was one of the sexiest things she'd ever seen.

"Kevin, he's family. We'll be fine," Jenny reassured him. "Even without a Kevin-shaped buffer."

"I love you, Jen," Kevin told her, and Jenny's knees went melty. It didn't matter how many times Kevin said it, Jenny's heart did just as many back flips as the first time.

"I love you too, Kevin," Jenny reluctantly stepped out of the hug and smoothed Kevin's tie down. "You should get going before Kate starts wondering where you disappeared to."

"Yeah, I should. I'll see you in a few hours."

Kevin was halfway to the door when he turned and kissed her, and Jenny's knees finished turning to goo.

"Okay, _now_ I'm going," Kevin winked at her.

Jenny blinked as Kevin disappeared into the front hall.

He popped back into the kitchen a second later. "Oh, and Jenny? Espo didn't believe me about Call of Duty, so kick his ass, all right?"

"Okay."

Jenny grinned as Kevin left, tossing a "Play nice, you two!" over his shoulder. She grabbed Javier's water and a 7Up for herself and walked back into the living room.

"Kevin said you pranked Rick last year, Javier? Something about a mummy?"

* * *

Jenny and Javier both looked away from the TV as the door opened and Kevin dragged himself inside.

"There's soup on the stove, Kev," Jenny told him, watching as Kevin changed directions and made a beeline for the kitchen.

"Bro, your girlfriend has some serious gaming chops," Javier called after him.

"I know, right?" Kevin reappeared, soup in hand, and sprawled out on the beige couch. "The only one Jenny's bad at is Super Mario. Go figure."

"Really?" Javier shot an incredulous look at Jenny.

Jenny shrugged. "How was your night, Kev?"

"Long," Kevin sighed. "I had to go over those financials again and now whenever I close my eyes all I see are numbers. Captain's right, if I had a million dollars I'd put it in my mattress. But his friend confessed, so I think we're good."

"You think?" Javier asked.

"Beckett had that look on her face – you know, the same one she had when Castle said Cabot didn't kill Allison Tisdale," Kevin shook his head.

Javier groaned.

Jenny shushed them both as the baseball game came back on.

"She's been like that since the game started," Javier told Kevin.

"I know. It's cute," Kevin grinned.

* * *

"You convinced them Javier was going to be stuck in a wheelchair?" Jenny stared at the two of them from her position on the couch. "That's just mean."

"The Captain helped," Javier admitted.

"They _fell_ for it?" Jenny still looked sceptical.

"For a detective and a mystery writer, they're surprisingly gullible," Kevin told her.

Jenny gave in and went along with them, pausing the movie. "Okay, then what happened?"

"Beckett's new boyfriend showed up." Javier looked singularly unimpressed.

"Kate has a new boyfriend?"

"Apparently," Kevin frowned and stabbed at his moo shu pork.

"What's his name?" Jenny asked Kevin, curious.

"Josh. He's a tree. Even Castle looks short next to him."

"Wonder how that makes Castle feel," Javier mused.

"What else?" Jenny asked. She'd liked Kate from the moment she met her and was interested in anyone who could catch the detective's eye like that.

"Beckett had a motorcycle helmet with her. I thought she was just yanking Castle's chain about that." Kevin looked at Javier. "You ever see Beckett riding a motorcycle?"

Jenny twirled a few noodles around her chopsticks and watched the two of them sulk for a minute before coming to a decision. "I can understand her not telling you two about her boyfriend."

"You can?" Kevin looked vaguely betrayed.

"I don't tell _my_ brother about anyone I'm seeing unless we've made it past the one-month mark," Jenny bit her lip and grinned at Kevin, "You were the exception. I caved after the first week."

"Ryan held out until the second," Javier smirked.

Kevin launched a fortune cookie at his friend's head.

"Anyway," Jenny interjected, giving them both a look. "If it hasn't been very long, Kate probably wanted to make sure that it was going somewhere before she introduced you to each other. We'd been going out for almost nine months before I met everyone."

"He called us boys," Javier sounded offended, "Explain that one."

Jenny pulled herself out of the lotus position and turned to Javier. "It could just be a quirk. I went out with this guy in college, and he called everybody sport. _Every_body. He called me – well, it doesn't matter what he called me," Jenny corrected herself, eyeing Kevin. "Whatever the reason, if he makes Kate happy, you two are going to have to give him a chance."

"Why?"

"Because you're the closest things she has to brothers, and your opinions mean a lot to her."

"Then why didn't she tell us right away?"

"Because Rick came back just over a month ago. With his ex-wife. If she was dating him then and she'd told you right away, and Rick found out, he might have thought she was jealous and trying to flaunt her relationship in front of him. And if she started seeing Josh after Rick came back, well, then it's still new enough she probably wanted to keep it to herself. Sometimes it's nice to have a secret relationship. Even if it's not really a secret."

"It's a girl thing?" Jenny offered, when Kevin and Javier just stared at her.


	5. Jailbreaks

**Jailbreaks**

Why do girls always go for the bad boys? And would you break me out of jail? Ryan/Jenny, post-Anatomy of a Murder.

* * *

"Hold the door please!" Jenny called, dashing through the lobby to the elevator. She squeaked through the doors right before they closed and heaved a sigh of relief before digging through her purse to find her keys. "Thanks."

"No problem, Jen," her elevator mate said.

Jenny whipped her head up and saw Kevin leaning against the other side of the elevator. "Kevin! I was afraid I'd be home later than you." Jenny walked across the elevator and hugged Kevin. "I was taking Bianca to the doctor. Her husband had a meeting rescheduled that he couldn't miss. How was your day?" She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, wrapping her arm around his waist and cuddling close.

"Doctor murdered, mobster involved, espionage, galaxies, jail breaks..." Kevin trailed off and grinned at Jenny. "You know, the regular stuff."  
Jenny laughed. "You call that a normal day?"

"Normal for Beckett's team, at least," Kevin conceded. "Sometimes I think they make sure we get the wacky cases so Castle doesn't get bored and leave."

"I thought you said Captain Montgomery only lets him stay around because the mayor likes him." Jenny teased.

"That too." Kevin stuck his arm out to hold the door when they arrived at the third floor and waved Jenny out of the elevator.

"Wait a minute – how was there a galaxy in your case?" Jenny asked, taking Kevin's hand as they walked out of the elevator.

"Metaphorically speaking only," Kevin reassured her. "There was this guy, Greg, and he convinced a whole group of female doctors to do little favours for him that ended up helping his girlfriend escape from prison. That was the Galaxy of Greg."

"He cheated on his girlfriend to get her out of jail? Wait – was she innocent?" Jenny asked.

"No, that's the thing! He was their friend, not their lover," Kevin explained. "And yeah, she was innocent, or at least we think she is – Beckett batted her eyes at Montgomery and he called in a favour with a friend of his at Justice and she's getting a retrial."

"I'm sure Beckett did more than bat her eyes, sweetheart," Jenny chided.

"Yeah, she probably had to volunteer to be on munchkin duty the next time Cap wants to go on a date with his wife." Kevin laughed and opened the front door of their apartment.

Jenny ducked inside and pulled a curtsey in thanks, grinning at him.

"Hey – you would break me out of jail, right Jen?" Kevin asked curiously.

"Honey, I'm an Art and substitute English teacher." Jenny should on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Of course I wouldn't break you out. I would make Javier and Kate do it." Jenny grinned. "Since it would probably be their fault you were in jail anyway." Jenny winked.

Kevin burst out laughing and spent a couple of minutes chuckling before composing himself. "Let me just get changed and then we can go out for dinner. You do still want to go, right?"

"Yes please!" Jenny exclaimed. "I need to get changed too. Apparently," she made air quotes around the word and stuck her tongue out at Kevin, "my kids don't know that paint splatters when you wave the brush around. I have a rainbow on my shirt."

"No way," Kevin tugged her closer and unbuttoned her jacket. "You got caught in the middle of a paint fight?" He opened Jenny's jacket and gaped at the mosaic of colour on top of the purple shirt. "…Were you looking for a new tie dye shirt?" Kevin asked, biting his cheek to keep from laughing.

"It's not permanent, smartass," Jenny replied, shrugging her jacket off the rest of the way and dropping it on the couch before kicking her shoes off. "And that joke was lame, sweetheart. I already got one about Jenny and the Technicolor Dream Coat and another about the Skittles rainbow really existing." She winked at Kevin.

"Jenny and the Technicolor Dream Coat," Kevin mused, snapping a quick picture of her on his phone. "I like it."

Jenny heard the click of the camera and whirled around. "Kevin, what are you doing with that?"

Kevin whistled innocently. "Nothing…just sending it to the team."

"Oooh, don't you dare!" Jenny pounced on him and they went tumbling over the arm of the couch, landing on the cushions. Jenny recovered first and snatched the phone out of his hand, holding it above her head. "You are not getting this back until tomorrow."

"What, like detention?"

"_Exactly_ like detention." Jenny pecked Kevin on the cheek and stood up, tucking his phone in her back pocket. "I'm going to get changed and you can do the same before we go out."

"Aren't kids in detention not allowed to go anywhere? That's sort of why it's called detention, right? They're _detained._" Kevin teased her.

"You're on phone detention, Kev." Jenny grinned. "I'll bring it with me in case Javier or Kate calls and it's a case, but you're not allowed to have it otherwise."

Kevin pouted. "You're a strict teacher."

"You should stop making fun of your girlfriend then." Jenny winked and skipped into the bedroom. "So tell me about this mobster!" Jenny called, tossing her shirt in the hamper and shimmying out of her jeans, pulling a skirt and a light sweater out of the closet. It was a little too chilly to want to wear short sleeves at night.

"He was a big shot drug dealer and gun runner in Colombia about a dozen years ago. Tough guy, one you don't want to mess with. Which is why he made such a great suspect at the beginning. He'd hired the doctor because he was sick and they ended up falling in love; meanwhile the DA had her investigating stolen medicine at the hospital she worked at, only his brother thought that she was investigating them and to protect the family he killed her and hid her in someone else's coffin." Kevin's voice got progressively closer as he spoke, and Jenny glanced over her shoulder as she wriggled into her skirt to spot Kevin in the doorway of their bedroom.

"You should be getting dressed too, Kev." Jenny grinned and pulled her sweater over her head, glancing down at her toes. She had a pair of brown boots that would look amazing with the teal skirt, and everything went with white – which was part of the reason she'd bought the sweater in the first place. Fall, spring – Jenny could wear it to school, out with Kevin or her friends and it complimented every other piece of clothing in her wardrobe.

"Very nice, Duffy," Kevin complimented her, giving Jenny a quick squeeze.

Jenny reached up and gently loosened Kevin's tie, pulling it over his head. "Leave the tie at home, okay? I want fun Kevin, not office Kevin."

"I can be fun with a tie on!" Kevin exclaimed, pretending to be offended.

"Once in a blue moon, maybe." Jenny smiled. "It's not a bad thing, Kevin. You just automatically act more serious when you're dressed for work. And ties are not exactly loungewear, if you know what I mean."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," Kevin teased. "Do you mean we're going to see a lounge singer? Perhaps eating in a lounge chair? Because you certainly can't mean we're just lounging when you look that good. I need to show you off to the rest of the world and make them jealous."

Jenny laughed and tossed Kevin's tie at him, giggling when he didn't catch it and it smacked him in the face. "Go get ready Kev, the reservation is in an hour and if we're late...well, we're going to have a lot of people suggesting we were a little too distracted to keep our eyes on the clock." Jenny winked and ducked into the bathroom to touch up her makeup. Paint and foundation really didn't mix. She kept an eye on Kevin in the bathroom mirror, giggling as he cycled through the clothes in the closet looking for something to wear.

"Hey, Jen, explain something to me," Kevin called, finally deciding on a grey sweater and a pair of jeans.

"I'll try! What's up?" Jenny dusted some blush onto her cheekbones.

"Why do girls always go for the bad guys?" His voice was muffled as he pulled his sweater on over his head.

"Because we like home improvement projects?" Jenny shrugged and leaned against the door jamb, shamelessly watching Kevin change. "When we see the good in someone we try and bring it out – and sometimes we can, sometimes we can't. Plus, every girl wants to date a bad boy at some point. Because deep down, we all want to the be Sandy to somebody's Danny." Jenny winked at her boyfriend and kissed him softly, smoothing out the neckline of his sweater. "You look very handsome."

"And like lots of fun?" Kevin teased, holding her close and deepening the kiss.

"Oh, tons," Jenny teased back breathlessly. "And we still have time to get to the restaurant before our reservations!"

Kevin rubbed his thumb over her hip and smiled. "Or we could call and move them back an hour?"

"Kev, I just got dressed," Jenny teased. "Besides, Maddie will make fun of us when we get to Q3."

"She won't," Kevin promised, kissing Jenny lightly. "Cross my heart."

Jenny dragged her decision out for a minute, enjoying the look of consternation that crossed her boyfriend's face. "Well…sure." She said finally, standing on her tiptoes to kiss Kevin firmly. "But I want more than just a quickie." Jenny giggled at the look on Kevin's face. "If I'm moving my plans around for you…" she looked at Kevin and gave him her best pout, "...if we had a late dinner we could _also _go for a carriage ride after."

"And you know those are just overpriced tourist traps, Jen." Kevin replied.

"You'd think you'd never been on a carriage ride before," Jenny teased, walking backwards towards the bed. She paused and glanced at Kevin. "Oh my god, you've never been on a carriage ride before, have you? You've lived in New York for how long?" Jenny stuck her tongue out at Kevin.

Kevin returned the favour and stuck his tongue out at Jenny. "My whole life, thanks. So?"

"Hon, you're missing out." Jenny grinned. "It's fun and romantic and a little ridiculous."

"Oh, it's all that?" Kevin asked, winking.

"It would be fun to go on a carriage ride with you," Jenny said.

"Okay," Kevin agreed. "We can do that."

Jenny beamed. "Aw, Kevin. You're the best." She started unbuttoning her sweater. "Now go move our reservations and get your cute butt back here."


	6. Domestic

A/N: Because as much as we all love Castle and Beckett, Ryan _was_ the one who got hurt and all we got was a background shot of him in an ambulance. He definitely deserved more than that. Part Two follows after the line break, and is a follow up piece I wrote after reading the Ryan Report. For everyone who read Domestic before, as the standalone, this is a re-post, but as the piece that inspired the series I thought it was wrong to not post it in the series as well.

**Domestic**

It's a little bit of normal after a whole lot of crazy, and it's not what you'd call normal pillow talk. Ryan/Jenny, post 3XK.

* * *

It was absolutely stifling in the apartment when she woke up. Indian summer had finally shown up. A quick kick sent the comforter flying away and onto the right side of the bed, and Jenny rolled over onto her back. Kevin's side of the bed was empty. A quick glance at the clock told her it was just after midnight, and she relaxed. Kevin had probably caught a break in the case he was working this week and stayed late to check it out. There was probably a text message waiting for her in the kitchen telling her exactly that. Jenny stared at the ceiling and contemplated simply going back to sleep, but the heat was getting to her. She could get a drink and check her phone, and then go back to bed.

Jenny didn't worry about Kevin while he was on the job (too much, anyway), because she'd seen exactly how good he was with his gun. After Jenny moved in three months ago, Kevin had taken her to the shooting range so that if, God forbid, she needed to, Jenny could use the back up Kevin kept in the dresser. Kevin was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, and he had three other people watching over him. So she didn't worry (much), but that didn't mean she liked waking up alone. Jenny padded down the hallway to the kitchen and paused when she saw the lights were on, but Billy Joel came floating out and Jenny smiled. Kevin was home.

"Midnight snack?" Jenny asked, sneaking up beside her boyfriend.

Kevin started. "Shit, Jen, I'm sorry I woke you up. I just… yeah, midnight snack."

"It wasn't you, it was the weather. I don't think August got the message it was done for the year." Jenny reassured him, hopping up on the counter beside the stove. "Whatcha making?"

"Grilled cheese. You want one?"

"Please." Jenny nodded.

Kevin turned away and went back to the fridge for more, and Jenny caught a glimpse of bright white butterfly bandages along his hairline.

"Oh my god Kevin, what happened?"

"Uh…" Kevin sheepishly scratched the back of his neck as he fished the cheese and butter out of the fridge. "This guy got the drop on me earlier tonight." He stacked everything on the other side of the stove and closed the fridge. "But I'm fine. It's just a cut, no stitches or concussion or anything."

Jenny beckoned Kevin closer to the counter.

"You're okay?" Jenny double checked.

"I'm fine," Kevin reassured her.

"Good," Jenny pressed her lips against the bandages. "Does it hurt?"

"Not so much anymore," Kevin grinned. "And I'm suddenly very glad I woke you up."

"You didn't wake me-" Jenny's protest was cut off as Kevin kissed her. Jenny hummed happily and looped her arms around his neck as Kevin's lips lingered on hers. He tasted like mint, coffee, and clovers.

"You should sit here more often," Kevin finally said, pulling back a fraction of an inch. "Easy access."

"Was that a short joke, Kev?"

"Maybe?" Kevin grinned.

Jenny smiled back and gave him a nudge towards the stove. "You're burning the grilled cheese."

Kevin swore. A quick look said they were beyond help, so he dumped them in the garbage and started again, grumbling under his breath. "This is all your fault," he told Jenny as he loaded the second round of sandwiches into the pan. "You distracted me."

"Sorry," Jenny managed to get out between giggles.

"Like I'm going to believe that one." Kevin grinned.

Jenny pulled him over to her section of the counter and gave him another kiss before she hopped down. "I'll watch the grilled cheese, you get something to drink."

"So you don't even trust me with food now, huh?"

Jenny smirked at him over her shoulder. "Like you said, you're very distractible."

"I am _no_-"

"Could you get me a glass of milk while you're digging through the fridge?" Jenny cut him off.

"Yeah, okay."

They were silent for a moment, and Jenny heard Billy crooning away, the hiss of the butter in the pan and Kevin opening a few cupboards.

"How was your day?" Kevin asked.

"It was really good, actually. I thought I'd hate taking over Bianca's English class while she's on maternity leave, but it's a lot of fun. Today they even said I was more fun than her because I'm an art teacher."

"Here we go," Kevin deftly switched Jenny the spatula for the glass of milk in his hand before flipping the sandwiches.

"I feel like I just got tricked."

"That's because you did." Kevin draped his arm around Jenny's shoulders and grinned down at her.

"There are worse things, I suppose." Jenny joked, standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss against Kevin's cheek. Jenny saw the bandages again and managed not to wince, though she didn't even try to resist the urge to wrap her arms around him.

"Funny," Kevin chuckled and held up the pan. "Okay, where do you want these?"

"I managed to tape one of the Simpsons Halloween episodes earlier." Jenny could really use a cuddle right now, and mindless cartoon violence was always good for unwinding. (It was a good thing she'd pressed record, because Jenny had managed to fall asleep halfway through it and she kind of wanted to see the end.)

Kevin's eyes lit up. "Which one?"

"_Treehouse of Horrors_ V, where they spoof the Shining."

"So… couch?" Kevin offered, trying not to look excited.

"You read my mind."

* * *

_Later that night..._

"Jenny."

"Mmph. Go away." Jenny rolled over and buried her head in her pillow.

"Jenny."

"Mmm. What time is it? Am I late for work?"

"I want you to come to the range with me again."

Jenny cracked an eye open and looked at Kevin. "Is that some sort of weird come on?"

"No." Kevin laughed.

Jenny hazarded a look at the clock. "Kev, it's four in the morning. Can this wait until the sun comes up?"

"_No."_

"What's wrong?" Jenny asked, propping herself up on one elbow. Kevin sounded almost distraught.

"That thing I was telling you about earlier…"

"Yeah," Jenny nodded. Kevin's bandage stood out in the gloom.

"We caught the Triple Killer case."

"The Triple Killer?" Jenny frowned. She didn't recognize the name.

"He was a serial killer that was running around New York four years ago."

Ah, that explained it. Four years ago she'd still been in Minneapolis. "Wait, are you saying that a serial killer was the one who knocked you out?"

"I didn't want to worry you," Kevin sighed.

"Kevin Ryan, that is _not_ how you avoid worrying someone."

"I'm fine," Kevin reassured her.

"I know," Jenny's lips twitched up. She sighed and snuggled into him, laying her ear over his heart. The steady, measured thumps were reassuring. "Why the wake up call, then?"

"He took some of my stuff. My gun, my phone, my wallet, my _badge_…"

"Kev."

"I had some pictures in my wallet, you know, the ones from a few weeks ago," Kevin continued.

"Oh, the ones from when I dragged you into the photo booth at the mall?" Jenny grinned at the memory. "We can always go back and get some more. That's the sort of thing you should do every once in a while, anyways."

"Jenny, the Triple Killer's victims have all been young, professional blondes."

"…Oh," Jenny said softly. "So that's why you want to give me a refresher course in shooting."

"Yeah. And if he keeps my phone, he has your number too. Please don't take any calls from my old number or ones you don't recognize until we catch him. And-"

"Babe," Jenny put her hand over his mouth. "Stop for a second, okay? Don't you think you might be worrying about this a little too much? He's on the run and you know what he looks like. And if that isn't enough, he's a serial killer who assaulted a cop. Everyone from here to Chicago is going to be looking for him."

Kevin's lips moved against her palm and Jenny bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Sorry. Start again."

"I'd still feel a lot better if you humoured me," Kevin said, eyes dark and worried.

"I'm free after school tomorrow," Jenny offered. "Do you want me to come meet you at the precinct?"

"At five?" Kevin offered. "I'll call if a body drops."

"Sounds-" Jenny yawned, "-sounds good. But for now I'm going back to sleep for… two and a half hours. Some of us have to be up at seven."

"You don't seem that worried, Jen," Kevin's eyebrows knitted together.

"Kev, I'm too tired to be worried right now. Wait until I've had some coffee, then I'll be freaking out." Jenny assured him. "Besides, I know something he doesn't."

"What's that?"

"Ah-" Jenny yawned again and then grinned up at Kevin. "-well, one, I sleep with a cop, which is even better than sleeping with a gun. And two, you're going to catch him before he can do anything."

"We're going to do our best," Kevin agreed, pulling her closer.

"I know you will," Jenny nodded against Kevin's chest.

"Jenny, I'm really sorry."

"For what, being in the wrong place at the wrong time? That's like me apologizing for flipping a coin a year and a half ago. It's not your fault." Jenny wrapped her arms around him. "I certainly don't blame you."

"Jenny?"

"Mmm?" She blinked sleepily.

"What do you think about dying your ha-"

"No."

"Okay."

Jenny smiled. "I love you, Kev."

"I love you too, Jen."

"Good," Jenny tilted her head to see him better. "Otherwise we might have a problem. Now, less talking, more sleeping."

"Jen…"

"It can wait until tomorrow, Kev. I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
